Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Worship Out of Loss

Last week a handful of us from the church traveled to Frisco Texas to the D6 Conference. D6 comes from Deuteronomy 6 and is a conference to strengthen family ministry in the church. There were many great speakers and the worship was outstanding. However, Thursday evening was one of those experiences we will never forget. Steven Curtis Chapman was given an hour to speak and sing. The request the organizers gave him, in fact, was for him to talk more than he sang. He spent a lot of time talking about his family and then singing songs that he wrote out of family experiences. We learned about his family and what led them to adopt several children from China. Steven then took the painful step of sharing what happened three years ago when his son drove up the driveway as one of his daughters ran out in front of the car and was killed.

During this time, you could feel his pain as he and his family searched for answers and struggled to understand why. There was not a dry eye in the conference room as each person either empathized or struggled to understand how they would react in such a difficult situation. After he poured out the pain deep inside his life, he gently pointed us to Jesus. When he began a time of worship and we sang the words “you give and take away, blessed be the name of the Lord”, you knew that the one leading in worship knew as well as anyone what Job was feeling when he wrote, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21). The openness and vulnerability of the worship leader took each of us before the throne in worship. May our openness and vulnerability with those around us help them understand why we love our Savior so dearly and draw them to experience the God who gives us strength in the good times and the bad.

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About Me

I am a servant of my Lord, Jesus. I serve Him as pastor of Eastern Heights Baptist Church in Bartlesville, OK. I am married to Tara and we have five children, Jordan, Jonathan, Abel, Ruby and David as well as one foster kid. I have a bachelors degree from Oklahoma Baptist University, a master's degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a doctorate of ministry degree from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Though I am proud of my education, I hope to be more known for my obedience in following Jesus Christ as I love the Lord with all my heart and love my neighbor as my self.